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No. 4 Syracuse concludes its four-game homestand with its toughest test of the season when it hosts an undefeated No. 1 North Carolina team. The Orange enter Saturday’s game on a four-game winning streak, with its latest victory coming over Pittsburgh to remain undefeated in Atlantic Coast Conference play. 

Against the Panthers, Syracuse got off to a slow start, trailing 4-2 at the end of the first quarter. But after finishing the game on a 16-2 run, the Orange cruised to another victory where Meaghan Tyrrell and Emily Hawryschuk combined for 14 of Syracuse’s 28 points. Hawryschuk also became the fifth player in program history to notch 300 career points and needs just 16 goals to break Kayla Treanor’s career-goal record (260). 

Here’s everything to know about No. 1 North Carolina (12-0, 5-0 ACC):

All-time series

UNC leads, 10-6.

Last time they played

After scoring 19 goals in a victory against Boston College at the ACC Tournament semifinals, the Orange couldn’t string it together offensively in the conference championship, falling to UNC 9-4 and scoring their fewest amount of goals in a game all season. Their previous scoring-low was also against the Tar Heels a month earlier when the Orange lost 17-6. 

The Orange jumped out to a 1-0 lead five minutes into the game when Emily Ehle scored off an assist from Emma Ward, who led SU with four points in the game. The Tar Heels responded with a 3-0 run across the next 11 minutes to take the lead, which they would never relinquish. Though Syracuse only trailed by two goals halfway into the second half, UNC responded with another 3-0 run to effectively put the game out of reach.

Defensively, Syracuse only caused four turnovers on the afternoon, but Asa Goldstock was able to record 11 saves on the Tar Heels’ 28 shots. The nine goals were also UNC’s fewest in any game during the season.

The Tar Heels report

After Syracuse defeated Loyola, UNC became the only remaining Division I team to be undefeated and holds the highest strength of record, per Lacrosse Reference, with wins at No. 10 Florida and then-No. 1 Boston College as well as an 11-goal victory at home against No. 3 Northwestern.

The Tar Heels sit in the top five nationally in scoring offense, draw control percentage and shot percentage, and they lead the country in assists per game. Defensively, they rank No. 6 in scoring defense, only holding opponents to 8.67 goals per game, which will be a test for the Orange who score nearly double that mark with 16.25 goals per game. 

UNC has six players who have recorded more than 30 points already in just 12 games this season, led by Jamie Ortega, whose 65 points is tied with Meaghan Tyrrell for seventh-best in the country. Defensively, sixth-year goalkeeper Taylor Moreno concedes just 8.62 goals per game, fifth-best nationally.

How Syracuse beats UNC

Both teams will enter Saturday’s game on a full week’s rest, but if Syracuse wants to defeat a team it hasn’t beaten since 2017, it will need to generate some offense, capitalize on the Tar Heels’ turnovers and limit its own.

Megan Carney remained sidelined the last two games with a lower-body injury that is being evaluated “day to day,” Treanor said. Syracuse will need any offensive weapon it can get on Saturday if it wants a chance at upsetting the Tar Heels, who enter Saturday’s game with a 74.3% chance to win, per Lacrosse Reference.

But generating offense starts by winning the draw. As a team, UNC secures the draw 61.3% of the time, third-best in the country, while the Orange’s draw controls sit at 55.8%. Kate Mashewske has occasionally been inconsistent on the draw, but along with Emma Tyrrell, the duo has combined for 146 draw controls, which is more than UNC has given up total all season. 

Player to watch: Jamie Ortega, attack, No. 3

Ortega leads the team in goals, points and shots and entered 2022 with 353 career points, the fifth-most in ACC history. Across the two matchups against the Orange a year ago, Ortega combined for 13 points on eight goals and five assists, which led to her earning ACC Attacker of the Year and becoming a Tewaaraton Award finalist.  

This season, she’s already had four games with five goals, most recently in a 15-7 victory over Notre Dame last Saturday, and has recorded nine multi-goal games this season. She’s the 10th-most productive player offensively, per Lacrosse Reference, in terms of the Statistical Tewaaraton stat, which measures the productiveness of a player across all play types. 

Stat to know: 21.1%

The Tar Heels have the best turnover rate in the country, only turning the ball over 21.1% of the time, per Lacrosse Reference. UNC isn’t going to cough up the ball very easily and are extremely efficient offensively, holding the second-best offensive efficiency (40.2%), per Lacrosse Reference.

Syracuse ranks 74th in caused turnovers per game, forcing just under eight per game, but evident in its game against Loyola, the Orange are capable of playing strong defensively and can create loose ball situations and intercept passes. 

It’s likely Sarah Cooper will match up against Ortega, similar to how Cooper matched up against the Greyhounds’ Livy Rosenzweig. But any turnover the Tar Heels concede might be one of limited opportunities that the Orange can capitalize on, especially if there are inconsistencies on the draw.

Published on April 6, 2022 at 11:00 pm

Contact Cole: colebambini@gmail.com | @ColeBambini